Frostbitten Read Online Free

snow is really falling now. I’m betting we won’t be able to open the door soon. When did you last eat?”
    “I shifted and ran this morning. I hunted. And I have plenty of supplies here for human food. Not forever, but for a while.” There. That’s it. Keep your mind on simple tasks, like eating. Maybe that will prevent… Oh, who was she kidding?
    Zephyr opened the cabinets and peered into each one, assessing the supplies. “We should be fine.” He crossed to the fireplace and added a log. “What possessed you to chop so much wood this morning?”
    “It was nice out. I felt propelled to prepare for winter. And as I worked, I could smell the snow coming in. I couldn’t stop myself.”
    He turned toward her and smiled again. He knew stuff. Lots of stuff. Far more than Adonia. For as much as her mother had prepared her for life, she had still led a very sheltered existence. Until now…

 

Chapter Two
    Zephyr stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He itched to take her in his arms, but she needed more time. Perhaps if he talked, he could calm her by telling her about himself. He padded toward her and circled to the other side of the bed. He needed to stretch out and there was no other place to relax. It was going to be a long wooing. Now was a good time to start.
    Adonia jumped to stand when he lay down on the other side of the bed. “Don’t worry. I’m just getting comfortable.”
    He watched her fiddle with her fingers, wringing her hands together in front of her. Her glorious long blonde curls hung loose all around her face. They stretched farther down her back than he’d initially realized watching her from the precipice to the west of her cabin. He wanted to drag his fingers through the tresses, and he would. Later.
    “I’ve heard of your pack. It’s the only other group of snow wolves living in Siberia. We aren’t native to this part of the world, you know.”
    She nodded, but remained rooted to the spot where she stood. Leeriness filled her eyes. He would earn her trust before he laid a single finger on her.
    “I believe your pack came from Greenland over a century ago. Did you know that?”
    She nodded again.
    He continued. Talking was the only way he could convince her to open up to him. “My family came from Canada soon after yours, according to most records, although your pack lives isolated and farther east of here. My family lives largely in the city to the west, venturing north to hunt and run.”
    “Why do you work for my father?” She tipped her head to one side. “My mother isn’t fond of him.”
    He could tell that was an understatement, and he couldn’t blame her for feeling the way she did. “Your father is a lady’s man. That’s for sure. But he isn’t a bad person. He’s had many women and now has children scattered all over the planet.” He smiled, but it did nothing to soften the look on her face. Her eyes weren’t trusting.
    “He seduced my mother.”
    “Yes, I’m sure he did. I’ve seen him do it many times. Sometimes he uses his innate power of persuasion to his favor, especially when a sexy female is in his presence. But, he means no real harm. He just enjoys the pleasures of the flesh.”
    When she narrowed her eyes, he coughed into his chest before continuing. “He likes to have sex.”
    Her innocence was precious and he vowed not to make her feel as her mother had felt all these years. He would not take her until she pleaded with him to do so. If this mating wasn’t completely her idea, she might feel coerced and resentful.
    “Anyway, when he discovers a child of his, he always makes good.”
    “I’m not going.” She crossed her arms over her chest and hugged herself. “If you’ve come all this way to convince me to return with you, you’ve wasted your time. This is my home. I like it here.”
    Zephyr let her words settle in the air for a few moments. He knew several things she did not. One, she would return with him when all was said and